Solar firms hope for place in sun in Mideast

While the solar energy industry in the West remains lackluster, Chinese solarenergy equipment manufacturers are actively looking for new markets for growth opportunities.

Some Chinese companies are planning to harness solar energy from deserts in the Middle Eastto help them step out of the shade.

More than 40 Chinese companies are attending the ongoing Fifth World Future Energy Summitin Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), the most important event for the renewable energyindustry in the region. In 2008, two Chinese companies attended the event.

Chinese electric car and rechargeable battery maker BYD Co Ltd is attending the summit forthe first time this year.

"Abundant solar energy falls unused on the deserts of the Middle East, we hope to bring oursolar products and technologies to the market, even though it has yet to take shape," saidZhao Tong, general manager of BYD's solar division.

Awareness is growing in the oil-rich region of the importance of renewable energy to its future.

The UAE, for instance, is currently building a 6-sq km clean-technology cluster at Masdar city,near Abu Dhabi.

And Suntech Power Co, China's biggest solar panel maker, is supplying panels for a 10megawatt solar plant to power Masdar city, said Alan Frost, director of Masdar city.

Suntech's entry to the region is part of the company's overall plan to diversify its overseasmarkets, according to Wu Hongyan, marketing vice-president of Suntech's Asia-Pacific, MiddleEast and Africa region.

Suntech was among the earliest Chinese solar companies to tap into the region. It set up itsDubai office in 2010, and now has several projects in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

According to renewable energies consultancy Apricum, some Middle Eastern countries haverealized that alternative energy sources are needed to limit the domestic depletion of fossilfuels, and photovoltaic cells will have significant potential to cut fuel consumption in the future.

However, Wang from BYD admitted that the company will cautiously enter the market.

"As a company, besides market potential, we also have to consider the possible investmentreturns, which will partly rely on government support for the emerging industry," he said.

"Local government's policies are critical for an industry at its early stage, we'll see if morebenefits can come from government support for the sector," Zhao said.

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JD Power: Chinese Brands Narrow Gap In Quality

JD Power recently released its vehicle reliability study for 2011. The study indicates that, from 2010, Chinese brands made huge strides in quality…narrowing the gap with foreign brands. Overall, Chinese brands narrowed the gap by a whopping 34% compared to their foreign rivals over the past year.

The vehicle reliability study measures eight categories of issues ranging from the power-train to exterior paint quality from 13-36 months of ownership. Figures are given in terms of Problems Per 100 Vehicles (PP100), thus a lower number indicates higher quality. China’s overall vehicle score came in at 218 PP100 in 2011, compared with 298 in 2010.

China’s own brands clocked in at 309 PP100, having decreased by 135 PP100 since the previous study.

BYD’s FO came in first place for the compact vehicle segment with the FAW Pentium B70 scoring highly in the premium midsize segment.

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BYD Becomes Apple Supplier, Shares Rise

 BYD (002594, 1211.HK) said it became one of the 156 suppliers of Apple Inc., triggering sharp gains in its share price and that of BYD Electronic International (0285.HK), reports sina.com.cn, citing a company filing.

BYD Electronic International mainly manufactures and sells handset components such as casings, modules and keypads.

The head of marketing at BYD, Lin Mi, said it supplied core mobile phone components to Apple.

Though Lin said BYD is expanding its business of supplying parts to major information technology companies, he did not disclose the quantity supplied to Apple.

According to Lin, the maker of rechargeable batteries and autos plans to introduce its electric car, e6, into the Hong Kong market in the second half of 2012.

BYD currently sells about 10,000 units of the e6 per month, up from the 7,500 units sold in September 2011, said Lin.

Shares of BYD Electronic International rose 7.56 percent to trade at HK$2.56 per share at 15:29, while BYD was up 7.43 percent to close at 25.3 yuan today.

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